North Village 2 Devonshire Cougars 2

With Premier Division leaders North Village coasting towards what would have been a deserved two-goal victory, Raymond Beach and substitute Mark Smith came up with late strikes to enable visiting Cougars to snatch a point from this Premier Division game at Bernard Park yesterday.

No one in the large crowd, Cougars' stalwarts included, would have expected their team to claw back into contention at a time when victory for Village was not only looking deserving but inevitable with just 13 minutes remaining.

But Village were ultimately made to pay for early misses and lapses in front of goal, while some fine goalkeeping by Ricardo Brangman also kept them at bay.

Their seemingly emphatic lead was halved after 77 minutes when Beach, on a counter attack, rifled home from a sharp angle on the left to get Cougars back in contention.

And then with just two minutes remaining as Cougars grew more and more in confidence, player-coach Shawn Smith found himself sandwiched between centre-back Kimandi Binns and substitute Daniel Jennings, leaving referee Stuart Crockwell with no option but to point to the penalty spot.

It was from the spot that Mark Smith grabbed the unlikely equaliser, raising the intensity for the final couple of minutes.

Cougars stormed the Village goal during the closing period, forcing three corners, but the leaders' defence held firm to preserve a point.

While Cougars rose above their opponents in the end after spending long periods playing second fiddle, it wasn't always a struggle for the men from the Den.

They had Village on the run for the first 20 minutes and could have taken a two-goal lead themselves as good chances went begging.

Midfielder Wali Salaam watched in agony as his curling corner after just six minutes, destined for the back of goal, was cleared away by left full-back Marlon Dill as he stood on the goal-line.

Salaam then had a 22-yard free kick sail just over the bar and several crosses flew in front of the goalmouth untouched as the Village defence struggled to get organised.

But Village veteran Dwight Warren eventually turned the tide after 23 minutes when he received a pass from skipper Kevin Jennings and blasted a shot home from 15 yards against the run of play.

That goal was to turn Village's fortunes around as they held a decisive edge for the rest of the half.

Clay Smith should have put them ahead 2-0 after 29 minutes but the normally deadly finisher could only fire wide of the far post from 15 yards.

With Village now shutting down Cougars' prominent strike duo of Beach and Heys Wolfe, the home side advanced deep and often into Cougars territory and a second goal always seemed imminent.

It almost came after 41 minutes when Keith Jennings sent in a rocket of a drive from 14 yards, but the agile Brangman in the Cougars goal dived to parry it away.

However, Jennings was to get the better of the goalkeeper after 53 minutes when his thunderous 19-yarder whistled home untouched to put Village 2-0 up.

Cougars were now looking a beaten team, failing to mount any significant attacks.

At the other end Village continued to storm forward with confidence with Keith Jennings twice forcing Brangman to make desperate leaps to tip goal-bound lobs over the bar.

But Cougars showed why it's never over until the final whistle blows.

Beach's 77th minute goal revived them and Smith's penalty earned a point which could yet prove valuable by the end of the season.

North Village: C.Augustus; S.Deshields (K.Dill, 56 mins), K.Binns, M.Hansey, M.Dill; R.Bean, Kev.Jennings (D.Jennings, 82 mins), J.Jennings; Keith Jennings, C.Smith (J.Davis, 77 mins), Dw.Warren. Subs not used: D.Adams, Kaiwon Dill. Booked - S.DeShields.

Devonshire Cougars: R.Brangman; D.Brangman, S.Smith, K.Swan, J.DeShields; O.Butterfield, W.Salaam (M.Smith, 56 mins), K.Steede; H.Wolfe, Y.Pitt (A.Minors, 63 mins), R.Beach. Subs not used: L.Tota, J.Simmons, V.Martin. Booked - S.Smith, M.Smith.

Men of the match: Keith Jennings (Village); Ricardo Brangman (Cougars).

Referee: S.Crockwell.

l Dandy Town's match against Boulevard, scheduled for Saturday night at St. John's Field, was rained out. A new date has yet to be fixed.